Department for Transport

Roads: Calderdale

Holly Lynch: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to page 75 of the Budget, how much of the £130 million announced for repairs of roads and bridges he plans will be spent in Calderdale; and when he expects Calderdale council to be in receipt of such funds.

Andrew Jones: From the total funding of £180 million the Department for Transport has made available to assist local highway authorities affected by this winter storms, including £130 million as announced in the Budget 2016, we have agreed to allocate a total of £25 million to Calderdale Council to help repair damage to the local highway infrastructure for which they are responsible. This includes the £5.5 million announced in January 2016 to help replace Elland Bridge.This funding is in addition to the funding of £‎20.5 million we are providing to the council for local highways maintenance funding to 2020/21.

Railway Stations: Finance

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect of the fixed cost to local authorities for submitting bids to the New Station Fund on the number of bids being made.

Andrew Jones: In order to qualify to bid for funding from the first or current round of the New Stations Fund, proposals need to be sufficiently developed in accordance with Network Rail’s Governance for Railway Investment Projects (‘GRIP’) process, achieving approval in principle at GRIP 3 stage – option selection. We do not believe that the additional cost of submitting a bid would be so burdensome as to deter a bid being made.

Heavy Goods Vehicles: Road Traffic Control

Nusrat Ghani: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to encourage data-sharing between highway authorities, mapping providers and satellite navigation companies to limit the use of inappropriate routes by HGVs.

Andrew Jones: The Government is putting the UK at the forefront of innovation in road transport. For example, we are establishing the UK as a global centre for excellence in connected and autonomous vehicles, creating a ‘Connected Corridor’ from London to Dover to enable vehicles to communicate wirelessly with infrastructure and potentially other vehicles, and planning trials of truck platooning on our motorways. The Department has brought together satnav manufacturers, mapping companies, local authorities and other industry organisations in a Satnav Summit and in further discussions. We are working with these parties to improve the information satnavs provide to road users, and enable better co-operation and information-sharing between local highway authorities and the industry through joint working. ITS UK, an industry body, have also worked with the freight and haulage industry to promote the use of appropriate satnav devices designed specifically for HGVs.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Syria: Lebanon

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what support the Government is providing to ensure the completion of new security infrastructure and measures along the border between Lebanon and Syria.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The UK has contributed £34 million to support the Lebanese Armed Forces' (LAF) ability to defend the border and contain spillover from the Syria conflict. The UK funded Land Border Regiments are successfully protecting the integrity of the Lebanese border for the first time in the country’s history.The UK is committed to continue its support to the LAF and bring the Lebanese borders under the authority of the state and has announced £6.7m additional support to the establishment of the 4th Land Border Regiment starting April 2016.

EU Immigration

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the number of migrants expected to attempt to enter the EU from Syria and other conflict zones during the period May to September 2016.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We have not made an independent estimate. The Government uses the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Organization for Migration data and analysis on migrant and refugee flows. The objective of the EU-Turkey deal is to stop irregular migration from Turkey and focus support on the majority of migrants and refugees who remain in the region near their homes. This is where we target a significant amount of UK support. We have pledged more than £2.3 billion in response to the Syrian conflict.

Members: Correspondence

Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he intends to answer the letter to him dated 9 February from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Ms M Hamilton.

Mr David Lidington: The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) replied to the letter from the Hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton (Sir Gerald Kaufman) of 9 February with regard to Ms M Hamilton on 22 March.

India: MV Seaman Guard Ohio

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations his Department has made to the Indian government on the Seaman Guard Ohio since the Indian court ruling relating to that matter in January 2016.

Mr Hugo Swire: We continue to follow this case closely, raising it at ministerial and official level at every opportunity, as we have done since November 2013. Following the court ruling on 11 January 2016 Ministers have raised the case with Foreign Secretary Jaishankar, the Minister of State for External Affairs, Mr VK Singh and the Indian High Commissioner Mr Navtej Singh.Whilst we cannot interfere in any foreign legal process, we shall continue to use every opportunity to raise the case at all levels, calling for any legal proceedings to move forward quickly.

Indonesia: Custodial Treatment

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to his Indonesian counterpart on the imprisonment and shackling of people living with mental health conditions in that country.

Mr Hugo Swire: The UK is committed to working with other states to ensure the rights of disabled people are upheld in full. It is important to recognise the inherent dignity and worth, the equal and inalienable rights, of all people. We regularly raise our human rights concerns and will look for the next possible opportunity to raise this specific issue with the government of Indonesia.

Department for International Development

Overseas Aid

David Mackintosh: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what mechanisms are in place to ensure funding from her Department reaches the project for which it is intended.

Mr Nick Hurd: As set out in the UK aid strategy we are determined to ensure that aid is focussed on tackling the global challenges of our time, in order to eliminate poverty and advance the UK’s national interest. The Department for International Development works with many suppliers and partners to deliver hundreds of individual programmes, often in complex and high risk environments. It has rigorous internal systems and processes to ensure that its aid reaches the intended beneficiaries and delivers the intended results. These are reflected in a detailed programme management framework (known as the Smart Rules) which sets out rules and principles designed to ensure all funding is spent as intended and delivers value for money. Due Diligence Assessments are undertaken on organisations receiving funding from DFID. The Department also uses delivery chain maps to understand the number and complexity of suppliers involved in a programme and how funds flow to the beneficiaries. These tools allow us to identify, understand and manage potential risks as programmes are delivered and to ensure that funds are properly accounted for. Risk levels are regularly reviewed and programmes closed if risk levels rise too high. All programmes that are being implemented undergo a rigorous formal annual review which assesses and records whether funds have been used for their intended purposes and the results that have been delivered. Risks or issues identified during the review are recorded, addressed and monitored. In areas of high risk, particularly in fragile and conflict affected areas, the Department often uses monitoring agents, independent audits, and other additional safeguards. All organisations who receive funding from DFID have to provide evidence about the use of funds, including through annual audited statements. DFID’s Internal Audit Department provides further checks that programme funding reaches the intended recipients and reviews the work of all overseas offices every two years. This is supplemented by the National Audit Office and the Independent Commission on Aid Impact who provide independent scrutiny over the use of the aid budget.

Ministry of Justice

Youth Custody: Safety

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many incidents relating to safety of children in secure training centres and young offender institutions have been raised by Barnardo's advocates with (a) Youth Justice Board monitors and (b) local children's safeguarding boards in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

Andrew Selous: Although youth offending is down, reoffending rates are far too high and the care and supervision of young offenders is custody is not good enough.That is why the Justice Secretary has asked Charlie Taylor to conduct a review of youth justice. He will report back later this year with recommendations on how to improve the treatment of young people in our care. The Table below is based on quarterly information provided to the Youth Justice Board by Barnardo’s and includes all safeguarding issues raised with a Barnardo’s advocate. When a safeguarding issue is raised with a Barnardo’s advocate, they will make a referral through the establishment’s safeguarding process, which is agreed with the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO). The YJB monitors continually check whether referrals are being made when they should be. Cases can also be directly referred to the LADO by any member of staff, a Barnardo’s advocate, or a YJB monitor.  Table 1: Number of safeguarding incidents reported to Barnardo’s advocates in STCs and under-18 YOIs: July 2013-June 2015  July 2013 to June 2014July 2014 to June 2015STCs2926Under-18 YOIs172208 Notes: The July 2014 to June 2015 data include Hassockfield STC and Hindley YOI which were decommissioned part way through this period

Non-molestation Orders

Holly Lynch: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what criteria are used to determine when a non-molestation order is the appropriate course of action.

Mike Penning: Determining when a molestation order is an appropriate course of action is a judicial decision. The court will consider the evidence before it and all the circumstances of each case in determining whether to make a non-molestation order and what duration and conditions to set out. The court also has the power to make a non-molestation order on its own initiative in any family proceedings if it considers it would be of benefit to any party or relevant child.

Offences against Children

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health on the potential merits of the Children's House model for children who are victims of abuse.

Mike Penning: This government has made tackling child abuse a priority. We set up the first ever cross-government Child Protection Taskforce to overhaul the way police, schools, social services and others work together in tackling this abhorrent crime. We have also invested an extra £100m to support vulnerable children and we are providing £7m for services supporting child abuse survivors. We have not had any ministerial discussions about the Children’s House model, but more widely the Government is committed to improving the experience of child witnesses in the criminal justice system. We have increased the number of intermediaries to support them to give their best evidence. In addition, vulnerable witnesses can give evidence away from the courtroom and away from the court building at remote sites set up nationally in each criminal justice region.

Prison Governors

Carolyn Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he will publish further information on his plans for increasing the autonomy of prison governors.

Carolyn Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which prisons have been selected to take part in the pilot scheme on increasing the autonomy of prison governors; and how long that pilot scheme is expected to last.

Andrew Selous: We will announce our plans for reform prisons in due course.

Prisons: Drugs

Carolyn Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what research his Department is undertaking on the use and effects of psychoactive substances on the prison estate.

Andrew Selous: We do not tolerate drugs in prison. There is a wide-ranging programme of work being undertaken by NOMS and its partners to better understand and to tackle the use of New Psychoactive Substances (NPS), which have a particularly destructive effect in prisons. In April we will introduce widespread drug testing of prisoners for NPS, we are training sniffer dogs to detect NPS, and we are also working with Health partners and others to provide appropriate information, guidance and support to offenders and those working with them in prison. We have a comprehensive range of security measures in place to detect drugs, and to prevent smuggling into prisons.

Cannabis

Mr Nick Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have been prosecuted for cultivation of cannabis in each of the last five years for which records are available; in how many of those prosecutions a serious medical condition was cited in mitigation; and what the cost to the public purse was of those prosecutions.

Mike Penning: The number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts for offences related to cannabis cultivation in England and Wales, from 2011 to 2014 (latest available), can be viewed in the table.Those who grow cannabis on a larger scale can be prosecuted for the separate offence of production of cannabis.Defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts for offences related to cannabis cultivation (1), England and Wales, 2011 to 2014 (2)(3)2011201220132014944319214127(1) An offence under Section 6(2) Misuse of Drugs Act 1971(2) The figures given in the table relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.(3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. Information for 2010, along with information for any year concerning any mitigating circumstances offered, is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. Separate breakdowns of the costs of individual prosecutions are not held centrally. Court proceedings data for 2015 will be published in due course.

Ministry of Justice: European Social Fund

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much funding his Department received from the European Social Fund (a) between 2007 and 2014 and (b) from 2014 to the last month for which data is available.

Andrew Selous: Money received from the European Social Fund (ESF) by the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) Co-financing Programme is published in the NOMS Annual Report and Accounts on gov.uk. The latest accounts can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/434548/NOMS_AR14_15_report_accounts_Final_WEB.pdf

Witnesses

Mims Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how his Department defines a vulnerable and intimidated witness; and what processes are in place to support such witnesses when giving evidence.

Mike Penning: Vulnerable witnesses are defined under section 16 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 as all child witnesses (under 18 years), or any witness whose quality of evidence is likely to be diminished because they are suffering from a mental disorder (as defined by the Mental Health Act 1983), have a significant impairment of intelligence and social functioning, or a physical disability or disorder.Under section 17 of the 1999 Act, a witness is considered ‘intimidated’ if they are giving evidence in a case involving a sexual, knife or gun, human trafficking or modern slavery offence, or if the court is satisfied that the quality of evidence given by the witness is likely to be diminished by reason of fear or distress on the part of the witness in connection with testifying in the proceedings.Vulnerable and intimidated witnesses are eligible for special measures to support them to give their evidence. Measures include the use of intermediaries to help communication, allowing witnesses to give evidence by way of pre-recorded video and /or live video links from outside the courtroom, screening the witness from the accused, removing people from the public gallery whilst the witness gives evidence and the removal of gowns and wigs. The full list of special measures available can be found in sections 23 to 30 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999:http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1999/23/part/II/chapter/I/crossheading/special-measures

Non-molestation Orders

Holly Lynch: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what provisions are in place to ensure that provision of court time for non-molestation orders between parents is dealt with as a matter of urgency.

Caroline Dinenage: The family court takes the issue of domestic violence extremely seriously and can list urgent applications for a non-molestation order for the same day.

Courts: Closures

David Mackintosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he has taken to ensure (a) the efficiency of the transition to new courts of cases from courts that are planned for closure and (b) minimal adverse effect on those remaining courts.

Mr Shailesh Vara: Implementation of court closures has commenced and is expected to take place on a phased basis over the next two years. A schedule of anticipated closure dates has been published and can be accessed online at www.gov.uk/moj. Detailed implementation plans are being developed by each region of HM Courts & Tribunals Service. Local implementation groups will be established to oversee each closure. They will work in close cooperation with the judiciary where appropriate. The groups are responsible for ensuring that the transfer of work to receiving sites takes place efficiently and that effective service delivery is maintained at receiving sites throughout the process of court closure.

Interviews: Children

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what regulations govern parental consent for the recording of interviews with lone children in cases involving Cafcass.

Caroline Dinenage: There are no regulations governing parental consent for the recording of interviews with lone children in cases involving the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass). The extent of the role and responsibilities of Cafcass officers is set out in the Family Procedure Rules 2010 and Practice Direction 16a, and this refers to the duty to “make such investigations as may be necessary”. Cafcass practitioners are aware that they must consider the best interests of the child in all aspects of their casework, including dealing with a request from a parent to record an interview.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

British Library: Finance

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to support the work of the British Library during the next funding period; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Edward Vaizey: In the 2015 Spending Review it was announced that the British Library, along with sponsored museums and galleries, would be receiving a settlement unchanged in cash terms. This will allow the British Library to continue its current good work. Further, the Government supports the British Library's ambition to develop land to the north of its St Pancras site, subject to business case approval. If it goes ahead this will create both more space and the potential for increased income for the Library.

Telecommunications: Contracts

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment his Department has made of Ofcom's programme to monitor and enforce the cancellation and termination arrangements of different providers; and what steps he is taking to ensure that consumers can easily leave their communications contracts in future.

Mr Edward Vaizey: In June 2015, Ofcom launched a monitoring and enforcement programme to assess the cancellation and termination arrangements of communications providers, and the impact these have on consumers’ ability to exit their communications service contract quickly, conveniently and without error. We will discuss with Ofcom any findings from its programme that show consumers have difficulty ending contracts, and work with them to identify whether action needs to be taken.

Arts: EU Grants and Loans

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to help arts and cultural organisations apply for funding from the EU's Creative Europe programme.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The Creative Europe Desk UK, which is part-funded by DCMS, raises awareness of the opportunities offered by the EU’s Creative Europe programme; encourages the UK’s creative sectors to engage in the programme through taking part in supported international initiatives and networks‎; and provides advice and support to UK-based applicants of Creative Europe. The Desk is led by the British Council and the BFI with a consortium of partners in the UK (Arts Council England, Creative Scotland, Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Welsh Government).

Arts: EU Grants and Loans

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what (a) grants and (b) indirect funding were provided by the EU's Creative Europe programme the UK arts and cultural organisations in (i) 2013-14, (ii) 2014-15 and (iii) 2015-16 to date.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The Creative Europe Programme (2014-2020) was launched in January 2014. The programme consists of two sub-programmes; the Culture sub-programme to promote the culture sector, and the MEDIA sub-programme to support the audiovisual sector. Prior to 2014, the European Commission ran separate Culture and MEDIA programmes. The Creative Europe UK Desk reports the following support was received by UK cultural and creative organisations and audiovisual companies through each of the sub-programmes in 2013, 2014 and 2015. UK Results for EU Commission Culture and MEDIA programmes 2013, and Creative Europe Programme 2014-2015 MEDIACulture Direct GrantsIndirect FundingDirect GrantsIndirect Funding2013€ 7,688,041€ 6,118,515€ 4,825,000N/A2014€ 9,289,292€ 7,775,310€ 5,880,208N/A2015€ 6,677,272€ 4,745,231€ 5,451,385N/A Note: Indirect funding in the MEDIA sub-programme relates to awards to non-UK distribution companies distributing UK films in foreign markets. In the Culture sub-programme all awards are direct grants to UK led projects.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport: European Social Fund

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much funding his Department received from the European Social Fund (a) between 2007 and 2014 and (b) from 2014 to the last month for which data is available.

Mr Edward Vaizey: DCMS received no funding from the European Social Fund (ESF) programme during the period specified.

Department for Work and Pensions

Employment Schemes: Training

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, which non-governmental organisations have been involved in developing training materials for the training and accreditation of work coaches.

Priti Patel: The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is a registered centre for endorsed learning accreditation and has been delivering endorsed learning programmes for a number of years. The accredited learning for Work Coaches builds on the qualifications developed for the Operational Delivery Profession, in association with City and Guilds and the Chartered Management Association. DWP currently has a contract with Pearson Education Ltd to accredit the Work Coach learning journeys and to secure standards for those qualifications they certificate.

Personal Independence Payment: Assessments

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the increase in processing times for personal independence payment reassessment cases between the case return from assessment provider to his Department's case decision since October 2015.

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the increase in end-to-end personal independence payment processing time from 11 to 13 weeks.

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the role of personal independence payment assessment providers in the increase in processing time between the case referral to assessment provider to return from the assessment provider to the government office since July 2015.

Justin Tomlinson: Following a controlled start from July 2015, full Personal Independence Payment (PIP) roll-out commenced in October 2015, with an increase in the numbers of existing Disability Living Allowance claimants being asked to claim PIP. In addition and in order to improve the customer journey, the Department has made some changes to the way in which it monitors Assessment Provider performance. These changes mean that Providers now have more time in which to complete assessments and return reports to the Department and also gives them greater flexibility to obtain further evidence to support claims: this therefore allows more time for scheduling appointments that better suit claimants and Assessment Providers, increases accuracy in assessments and reports and ensures opportunities for paper based reviews are maximised thereby reducing the demand for face-to-face appointments. Although these changes may see slightly longer average clearance times, they remain within expected levels.

Personal Independence Payment: Wales

Mr David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average duration has been of face-to-face consultations for personal independence payments in (a) Wales and (b) each postcode area in Wales in each of the last three financial years.

Justin Tomlinson: The average duration of Personal Independence Payment consultation times in (a) Wales and (b) by postcode area of Wales (in minutes) were: Postcode2013/20142014/20152015/2016CF565451CH585757GL766766HR767359LD676057LL585756NP595953SA616054SY736659Wales (Total)605854

Community Work: Standards

Chris Heaton-Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he has taken to ensure that Community Work Placement providers are held to the standards required in their contract.

Priti Patel: Community Work Placement performance is being actively managed, underpinned by improvement plans and local performance improvement activity, with contracts terminated early where providers have failed to meet their targets. This action sends a clear message to providers that the Department expects them to deliver the performance they have promised in their bids.

Employment and Support Allowance: Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease in (a) England and (b) Wales applied for employment and support allowance in each of the last five years.

Priti Patel: The information requested is not available.

Employment and Support Allowance: Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people who claim employment and support allowance in (a) England and (b) Wales have been diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease.

Priti Patel: The number of Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) claimants with Inflammatory Bowel Disease as their main disabling condition, in England is 9,130 and the number for Wales is 730. Source: DWP 100% data. Notes:Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.The data is at August 2015 which is the latest available information.

Migration: EU Countries

Sir William Cash: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will provide an estimate of (a) the total level of immigration from other EU member states and (b) the annual number of people coming to settle in the UK from other EU member states which would trigger the activation of the proposed alert and safeguard emergency brake mechanism; and what discussions he has had with his counterparts in other EU member states and the European Commission on the appropriate thresholds for the emergency brake mechanism to be activated.

Mr Shailesh Vara: Holding answer received on 24 March 2016



Alongside the conclusions of the February European Council, the European Commission made a separate Declaration on the emergency brake (the ‘Commission Declaration on the Safeguard Mechanism’). This Declaration set out the Commission’s view that the exceptional situation that the brake is intended to cover exists in the UK today. Additional details are a matter for the implementation of the proposal, and further announcements will be made in due course.

Children: Maintenance

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 29 February 2016 to Question 27464, how many joint investigations by the Child Maintenance Group Financial Investigation Unit and HM Revenue Customs in connection with income fraud for child maintenance and tax purposes are underway; and how many such investigations have been completed.

Priti Patel: There are currently three on-going joint investigations between HMRC and CMG, two of these are currently awaiting trial at the Crown Court. Three joint investigations have been concluded, all with findings of guilt at the Crown Court, with sentences ranging from 1 – 3 years imprisonment. Intelligence on a further 13 cases has also been passed to HMRC for them to consider.

Disability Living Allowance: Cystic Fibrosis

Chris Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many recipients of disability living allowance between the ages of 16 and 64 qualifying for each rate of (a) care and (b) mobility component have a main disabling condition of cystic fibrosis.

Justin Tomlinson: The information requested is shown in the table below. DLA care component with Cystic Fibrosis as an identified main disability condition, aged 16-64 - August 2015All3,770Higher Rate1,320Lower Rate720Middle Rate1,670Nil Rate70DLA mobility component with Cystic Fibrosis aged 16-64 - August 2015All3,770Higher Rate1,780Lower Rate110Nil Rate1,880  Source: DWP 100% WPLS.  Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Totals show the number of people in receipt of an allowance, and excludes cases where the payment has been suspended e.g. if they are in hospital. 3. A diagnosed medical condition does not mean that someone is automatically entitled to DLA. Entitlement is dependent on an assessment of how much help someone needs with personal care and/or mobility because of their disability. These statistics are only collected for administrative purposes.4. DLA care and mobility components can be paid together or on their own. The nil payment row is where the claimant is in receipt of the care component and not the mobility component 5. This information does not include PIP which replaced DLA for new claimants aged 16 to 64 from 8 April 2013.

Personal Independence Payment: Mental Illness

Michelle Donelan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what work his Department is undertaking to support people with mental health conditions who are subject to the personal independent payments assessment process.

Justin Tomlinson: Claimants identified as having mental health issues can access additional support at any point in the assessment process. At the new claim stage: if they do not return their claim form, we will arrange for the claimant to be referred directly to the assessment provider for their assessment without the need for completing the form. At the assessment stage: we would support any claimant with mental health issues to have company with them for their assessment. Additionally, Atos and Capita both employ Mental and Cognitive Champions to provide advice and support to their health assessors on conditions and disabilities affecting mental, cognitive and behavioural function. We also work closely with disability organisations to develop training and increase awareness of these conditions amongst health assessors.

Housing Benefit: Southampton

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what guidance his Department has given to Southampton City Council on the level of funding that will be available for discretionary housing payment in future years.

Justin Tomlinson: Local authorities, including Southampton City Council, were informed of their Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP) funding allocation for this financial year on 4 February 2016. Southampton City Council have been allocated DHP funding of £624,817 for 2016/17, a 35% increase from their 2015/16 allocation and local authorities are able to top up Central Government funding by a maximum of two and a half times this figure using their own funds This package of Discretionary Housing Payment funding (£870 million over 5 years) will enable Local Authorities to provide support to the most vulnerable claimants.

Ministry of Defence

Defence: Procurement

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to improve defence capacity building.

Michael Fallon: We engage in capacity building activities with a wide range of international partners, covering a broad spectrum of topics including Humanitarian and Disaster Relief; Countering Violent Extremism; Peace Support Operations and countering illicit trafficking.We committed in the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 to increase our capacity building with partners, and have since then expanded our activity in a number of ways.For example, we have launched a new three year Counter-IED capacity building programme with Pakistan. We have also joined the US-German Trans-Atlantic Capability Enhancement and Training (TACET) initiative, under which we will deploy Short Term Training Teams to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland. In Ukraine, where we have already trained over 2,000 members of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, we are aiming to provide additional support to Ukrainian Defence reform including practical interventions in areas such as strategic communication and modernisation of procurement and logistics systems. In Nigeria we continue to expand our resident British Military Advisory and Training Team, and have committed to more than doubling the number of UK military personnel who deploy on short term training tasks to 300 in 2016. We have also significantly increased the support we provide to the Jordanian Army to help them improve border security.

Armed Forces: South China Sea

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of whether there are circumstances under which the Government would consider deploying armed forces in the South China Sea.

Penny Mordaunt: The UK remains concerned about the situation in the South China Sea. We call on all parties to uphold freedom of navigation and freedom of overflight, to refrain from activities that increase tension, and to pursue urgently a settlement of the maritime disputes peacefully in accordance with international law. As a major trading nation that has substantial links with all the nations bordering the South China Sea the UK has a close security interest in the maintenance of regional peace and stability. While we have a limited permanent military presence in the form of the Brunei Garrison and our contribution to the Five Powers Defence Arrangements in Malaysia and Singapore, other than planning for routine exercises and defence engagement tasks. We have made no specific assessment of the circumstances under which we would deploy Armed Forces to the region.

Armed Forces: Pacific

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the operations limitations are on the UK's ability to operate in the Pacific.

Penny Mordaunt: Any operational constraints are established on a case-by-case basis at the start of an operation. That being said, we are clear that the international right to freedom of navigation and freedom of overflight must be preserved in the Pacific and that all parties should refrain from activities that increase tension, and pursue urgently the settlement of the maritime disputes peacefully and in accordance with international law.

Armed Forces: Deployment

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which military operations UK armed forces have been involved in that have (a) included other EU member states and (b) been EU-led.

Penny Mordaunt: The security and stability of the UK has long depended on our strong partnerships in the Euro-Atlantic area, and we have worked alongside our Allies both in NATO and EU operations. The UK Armed Forces are currently deployed alongside European partners in many environments, including the NATO Operation in the Aegean and the EU-led Operation in the Central Mediterranean, both providing critical support to the international efforts to destroy the illegal smuggling networks putting thousands of lives at risk. Additionally, UK Armed Forces are deployed in other EU Operations and Missions in Mali, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Somalia, as well as the anti-piracy operation off the Horn of Africa.

Military Exercises

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which military exercises UK armed forces have been involved in that have (a) included other EU member states and (b) been EU-led.

Penny Mordaunt: Exercises with international Allies and partners are critical to improving our Armed Forces' interoperability on deployment and enhancing collective Defence through NATO. Last year we saw an excellent example of this in NATO's Exercise Trident Juncture, the biggest military exercise in 10 years. Although the EU does not lead large scale military operations like NATO, it does support the interoperability of our Armed Forces through its battlegroup framework and small scale exercises led by its Member States. The UK will hold the leadership of the battlegroup in the second half of this year.

Armed Forces: Ammunition

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what attempts have been made to clean up contamination from bullets and shells used by UK forces in (a) Afghanistan, (b) Iraq and (c) Libya; what the cost has been of that work to date; and which UK companies have been awarded contracts to carry out that remediation.

Penny Mordaunt: In all operational theatres the UK, where practical and possible, records the use of all explosive ordnance and makes every effort to ensure no remnants, hazardous or otherwise, remain. This is done for both humanitarian concerns and operational imperatives as we would not wish to leave any ordnance which could fall into the hands of our adversaries and subsequently be used against UK forces.UK forces records the use of all munitions and protects civilians under the Geneva Conventions with marking, removal and destruction of Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) wherever practical and possible: where troop movements may be affected or where ERW represent an immediate and significant danger to life. The Ministry of Defence does not hold information centrally on commercial ERW clearance: after the cessation of hostilities, the UK will normally contract commercial organisations, through the Department for International Development, to carry out the routine assessment, marking and clearance of ERW and risk education for humanitarian and developmental purposes.

Somalia: Military Aid

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what (a) training, (b) financial and (c) materiel support his Department is providing to the Somali National Army.

Penny Mordaunt: UK support to the Somalia National Army (SNA) totalled £17million in 2015-16, funded through the Conflict Stability and Security Fund (CSSF). This is intended to increase to £20million in 2016-17. This includes Defence mentoring support to the development of the SNA in Mogadishu, delivered both bilaterally and through UK personnel embedded in the EU training mission, and Defence oversight of a non-lethal equipment programme (including tents, computers, generators, vehicles). It also includes the provision of stipends; infrastructure support; and a £3million HMG donation to the SNA Trust Fund operated by the UN Support Office in Somalia (UNSOS). HMG is looking to deliver an enhanced programme in 2016-17.

Yazidis: Military Aid

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what (a) training and (b) materiel support is being provided by his Department to Yazidi militia forces.

Penny Mordaunt: The UK is working with the government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government to ensure they are better able to protect their own diverse population, including the Yazidi and other minority communities. We have not provided any support directly to Yazidi militia forces.

Ukraine: Military Aid

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he plans to take to monitor the location and use of the recently announced military equipment being given to Ukraine.

Michael Fallon: All equipment being gifted is non-lethal in nature, and includes night vision goggles, global positioning sets (GPS), helmets, body armour, ruggedized laptops, large tents, heating units, cold weather clothing and individual first aid kits.This equipment has helped save lives in contested areas in the Donbas. Given its non-lethal nature, we see no need routinely to monitor its location and usage.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to Answer of 22 February 2016 to Question 26843, if he will publish the terms of reference for the Reaper User Group.

Penny Mordaunt: The MQ-9 Users Group is a multilateral forum for France, Italy, the UK and US. As such, the release of the Group's Terms of Reference can only be approved if all four participating nations agree. To that end, the request for their release was highlighted at the MQ-9 User Group and individual nations will report back as soon as is practicable.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to Answer of 29 January 2016 to Question 23886, which UK representatives attended the meeting of the Reaper User Group between 14 and 18 March 2016.

Penny Mordaunt: UK attendance at the MQ-9 User Group was limited to representatives from the Royal Air Force, led by the Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance Force Commander.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Members: Correspondence

Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when he plans to respond to the letter from the hon. Member for Wolverhampton South West of 27 January 2016 on the local government finance settlement.

Greg Clark: A response was sent on 17 March.

Sleeping Rough: Mental Illness

David Mackintosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what proportion of rough sleepers has mental health issues; and what plans he has to address that issue.

Mr Marcus Jones: No one should ever have to sleep rough. That is why we have increased our central investment for homelessness to £139 million over the next four years, and protected homelessness prevention funding to local authorities, totalling £315 million.We know sleeping rough is rarely the result of a personal housing crisis alone and that the most entrenched rough sleepers often have complex needs, including mental health difficulties or addiction. That is why we are investing £10 million in an innovative new national Social impact Bonds Fund to help address these complex needs in order to help entrenched rough sleepers move off the streets. Through my Ministerial Working Group on Homelessness, I am working with ministerial colleagues across government including the Department of Health, to develop actions to address these underlying causes of homelessness.

Housing: Construction

Bob Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department has taken to encourage the development of small sites by small builders; and whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential effect of deferring payment of the community infrastructure levy for sites of less than 50 units until those properties are placed on the market on the development of such sites.

Brandon Lewis: Increasing the number of homes is a top priority for this Government and helping smaller builders to contribute is key. Self builders are exempt from the Community Infrastructure Levy and charging authorities may offer relief from the levy in exceptional circumstances where a specific scheme cannot afford to pay it.We brought forward policy to exempt sites of less than 10 units from making affordable housing and tariff style contributions through section 106 planning obligations, which was subsequently quashed by the courts. We have appealed this decision and we are awaiting the judgment from the Court of Appeal.The Government is currently undertaking a review of the Community Infrastructure Levy, through an independent panel, to assess the extent to which the levy provides an effective mechanism for funding infrastructure, and to recommend changes that would improve its operation in support of the Government’s wider housing and growth objectives. The review, amongst other issues, will be looking at the relationship between the levy and section 106, including how they work together in practice.

Local Government: Devolution

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to the publication Decentralisation: An account of progress, published in December 2012, what progress his Department has made on proposals to deliver on annual decentralisation statement.

James Wharton: Since December 2012 considerable progress has been made on the decentralisation of powers to cities and regions, including the evolving work of negotiating City Deals, Growth Deals and now Devolution Deals with places across the country. The Cities and Local Government Devolution Act sets out in legislation the requirement for the Government to produce an Annual Report on devolution; the first such report is currently being drafted and will be laid before both Houses of Parliament later this year pursuant to the legislation.

HM Treasury

Multinational Companies: Annual Reports

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to require large companies to publish a country-by-country report in their annual financial report.

Mr David Gauke: The UK supports efforts to improve tax transparency. We initiated the international work on country-by-country (CbC) reporting to tax authorities during our G8 Presidency in 2013, calling on the OECD to develop a template for this as part of the BEPS project. The UK was the first to commit to implementing the OECD model with legislation in Finance Act 2015. We signed the OECD agreement to share the CbC reports with other tax authorities in January 2016 and issued our final CbC reporting regulations on 26 February 2016. The Government believes that there is scope for greater transparency by pressing the case for public CbC reporting on a multilateral basis. As the Chancellor has said, this is something that the UK will seek to promote internationally.

Licensed Premises

Martyn Day: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to support the licensed hospitality sector to mitigate the effects of (a) wage rate inflation and (b) reduced demand for drink and food-led outlets.

Mr David Gauke: The Government is committed to supporting pubs and other licensed hospitality firms. The sector will benefit from the changes announced at Budget 2016. These include cutting business rates for all properties in England with Barnett consequentials for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to introduce equivalent measures if they so wish. Reforms to stamp duty land tax on non-residential property transactions will cut the tax for many small businesses purchasing property. Budget 2016 also announced the corporation tax rate will be cut to 17% in 2020 and that the duty rates on beer, spirits and most ciders will be frozen this year.

Revenue and Customs: Greater Manchester

Jim McMahon: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answers of 3 February 2016 to Question 24298 and 8 March 2016 to Question 28866, on Revenue and Customs: Greater Manchester, whether any value for money review was undertaken on the decision to relocate staff from Phoenix House, Oldham to Manchester.

Mr David Gauke: HM Revenue and Customs has not undertaken a separate value for money review on the decision to relocate staff from Phoenix House, Oldham to Manchester. I refer you to my answer of 8 March.

Tax Avoidance

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the judgment in Schofield v HM Revenue and Customs [2012] EWCA Civ 927 (11 July 2012), what steps his Department has taken against PricewaterhouseCoopers for designing and marketing the tax avoidance scheme rejected by the court.

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the judgment in Iliffe News and Media Ltd & Ors v Revenue and Customs [2012] UKFTT 696 (TC) (1 November 2012), what steps his Department has taken against Ernst & Young for designing and marketing the tax avoidance scheme rejected by the court.

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Supreme Court's judgment in UBS AG & Anor v Revenue and Customs [2016] UKSC 13 (9 March 2016), what steps his Department has taken against Deloitte for designing and marketing the tax avoidance scheme rejected by the court.

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the judgment in Stagecoach Group PLC & Anor v Revenue and Customs [2016] UKFTT 120 (tc) (10 February 2016), what steps his Department has taken against KPMG for designing and marketing the tax avoidance scheme rejected by the court.

Mr David Gauke: It is not possible for HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to provide details of any action taken in connection with these organisations. In the March 2015 Budget, the Government challenged the accountancy and tax professional bodies to improve how they deal with their members who promote tax avoidance schemes. The professional bodies have responded positively to this challenge and are working with HMRC to agree a new standard to which their members will need to adhere.

Business: Taxation

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the European Commission about introduction of the Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base.

Mr David Gauke: Tax policy is a matter for national governments and direct tax files are subject to a unanimous vote in the Council. The Government has made it very clear to the European Commission that the UK will not sign up to the CCCTB, or any other measure that would undermine our tax sovereignty or risk harming the competitiveness and growth prospects of the Single Market.

Tax Avoidance

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will appoint an independent commission to investigate the role of PricewaterhouseCoopers, KPMG, Ernst & Young and Deloitte in designing, selling and implementing tax avoidance schemes.

Mr David Gauke: The Government is committed to countering tax avoidance to ensure all taxpayers pay their fair share. At Budget 2016, the Chancellor announced a comprehensive package of measures to tackle tax avoidance and aggressive tax planning, and tax evasion by individuals and businesses. Overall, this will raise £12 billion by 2020-21. We keep our policy on countering tax avoidance under continuous review to respond to emerging risks.

Taxation

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to provide that whistleblowers whose evidence leads to a successful prosecution of tax evasion or avoidance receive a portion of the tax penalties levied on the guilty party.

Mr David Gauke: HM Revenue and Customs encourages people to come forward with information in a number of ways, and is already able to offer financial rewards to those who provide us with significant information relating to tax evasion or avoidance. The best way to do so is kept under review.

Flood Control: North of England

Holly Lynch: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to page 64 of the Budget 2016, how much of the £150 million announced for flood defence schemes he plans will be spent in (a) Leeds, (b) Cumbria, (c) Calderdale and (d) York; and when he expects that funding to be delivered.

Greg Hands: The Budget announced that over £150m will be invested in flood defence schemes in Leeds, York, Calder Valley, Carlisle and wider Cumbria. Funding will be allocated accordingly: Leeds (£35m), Cumbria (excluding Carlisle) (£33m), Carlisle (up to £25m), Calder Valley (£35m), and York (£45m). This funding will be delivered over the period 2016-17 to 2020-21.

EU Budget: Contributions

Mrs Anne Main: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much in VAT-based contributions the UK paid to the EU in each of the last 10 years; and if he will estimate the amount of such contributions in each of the next five years.

Mr David Gauke: The European Commission’s annual Financial Report provides calendar year historical contributions figures.

Patents: Corporation Tax

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many companies have applied for the lower rate of corporation tax under Patent Box.

Mr David Gauke: Due to companies being able to make a Patent Box election up to two years after the relevant accounting period, we will not be able to get full figures for the first year of the Patent Box until April 2016. The following figures are therefore projections. The estimated amounts of Patent Box relief can be found at the link below;https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/487119/Dec15_expenditure_reliefs_Final.xlsx.pdf About 480 companies made Patent Box relief elections for the first year 2013-14 alone.

EU Budget: Contributions

Adam Afriyie: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the UK's net financial contribution to the EU budget (a) was in 2006 and (b) is in 2015-16.

Mr David Gauke: The UK’s net contribution to the EU in 2006, including rebate and total receipts from the EU, can be found in the tables appended in the EU’s Financial Report 2014: ec.europa.eu/budget/library/biblio/documents/2014/Internet%20tables%202000-2014.xls No comparable figure can be provided for 2015-16 as outturn data will only become available later in the year.

Non-domestic Rates: Appeals

Kevin Brennan: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many non-domestic rate arrears appeals were (a) lodged and (b) heard in each of the last 10 years.

Mr David Gauke: The information requested is accessible via Tables LRW1and LRW2 of our 2005 and 2010 NDR Challenges and changes publications. Links below: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/479037/NDR_2010_Challenges_and_Changes.xls https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/479045/NDR_2005_Challenges_and_Changes.xls

Sanitary Protection: VAT

Paula Sherriff: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 3.63 of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015 and paragraph 2.16 of the Budget 2016, for what reasons the funding to support women's charities equivalent to the annual VAT raised on sanitary products has changed from £15 million to £12 million.

Mr David Gauke: As announced at Autumn Statement 2015, the Tampon Tax Fund is a £15 million annual fund to support women’s charities, equivalent to the amount of VAT raised on sanitary products. The Chancellor announced initial donations at Autumn Statement totalling £5m. Further grants totalling £12 million have been announced at this Budget. The Government has introduced legislation in the Finance Bill to enable the zero rate of VAT for women’s sanitary products.

Gift Aid

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to simplify the declaration of gift aid payments.

Mr David Gauke: The Government has already taken steps to simplify the declaration of Gift Aid payments by publishing a new declaration in October 2015. This was developed following consultation with representatives of the charity sector. The simpler wording of the new declaration will give charities and community amateur sports clubs (CASCs) greater confidence that the donations they receive under Gift Aid will be valid.

EU Budget: Contributions

Mrs Anne Main: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the total amount that the UK will contribute to the EU budget in each of the next five years.

Mr David Gauke: The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is responsible for forecasting UK contributions to the EU Budget. Details of the OBR’s latest forecast of UK gross and public sector net contributions to the EU Budget on a financial year basis can be found in Table 2.25 of its Supplementary Fiscal Tables. The OBR forecast is not directly comparable to the UK contributions set out in the 2015 EU Finances White Paper which averaged £7.1bn over the most recent period (Table 3.B). This is because the OBR’s net contribution to the EU budget does not include receipts that are not administered by UK government bodies and therefore does not reflect all EU transactions with the UK.

Infrastructure: Investment

Kevin Brennan: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much central government infrastructure investment was in each region of the UK since 2010.

Greg Hands: Historic data for regional infrastructure investment by government is not currently available. However historical capital expenditure figures including government’s infrastructure investment can be obtained from the following link : https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/country-and-regional-analysis-2015 https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/509735/NIDP_2016-2021_final_web.pdf

Insurance Premium Tax

Greg Mulholland: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 1.205 of the Budget 2016, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on insurance policy take-up of an increase in the standard rate of insurance premium tax.

Harriett Baldwin: As part of the costing process for all taxes, we looked at any behavioural changes.Where insurers pass on the rate increase, the increase may have a small impact on individuals and households purchasing insurance which is not exempt from IPT. This is not likely to lead to any significant change in take-up of insurance.

Insurance Premium Tax

Greg Mulholland: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 1.205 of the Budget 2016, if he will publish the calculations referred to in footnote 143 on the potential costs to consumers of the rise in the standard rate of insurance premium tax.

Harriett Baldwin: We do not usually publish such calculations.

Fuels: Excise Duties

Martyn Day: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 2.159 of Budget 2016, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of the freeze in petrol and diesel duty on (a) carbon emissions by cars and (b) the environment.

Damian Hinds: The Government took a wide number of factors into account when considering the case for a further duty freeze, including the impact on carbon and emissions. The data shows that carbon dioxide and air pollutant emissions from the road transport sector have continued to fall since 2011 when Government cut fuel duty by 1 penny per litre and froze it. This information can be found here in Table TSGB0308: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/tsgb03

Air Passenger Duty

Andrew Bridgen: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on (a) English airports and (b) aviation connectivity of the devolution of Air Passenger Duty.

Damian Hinds: Any potential effects of Air Passenger Duty (APD) devolution are contingent on the extent of devolution in the UK and subsequent decisions made by devolved administrations and central government. The Government is delivering the Smith Agreement by devolving APD to the Scottish Parliament. It is also considering the case and options for devolving APD to Wales, informed by a review of options to support English regional airports from potential impacts caused by its devolution. As part of this review, HM Treasury published a discussion paper at Summer Budget 2015 exploring a number of options. We are carefully considering the evidence received from stakeholders and will respond in due course.

Monetary Policy

Andrew Rosindell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the Governor of the Bank of England on the potential use of helicopter funds in the UK economy.

Harriett Baldwin: The Chancellor of the Exchequer has frequent discussions with the Governor of the Bank of England on a wide range of issues relating to the UK economy.

Individual Savings Accounts

Julian Knight: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he used any international systems to inform the formulation of his proposals to introduce a lifetime ISA.

Mr David Gauke: The Government is always mindful of international comparisons when developing tax policy. In the case of the Lifetime ISA, the Government will explore with the industry whether there should be the flexibility to borrow funds from the Lifetime ISA without incurring a charge if the borrowed funds are fully repaid; for example, some US retirement plans allow 50% to be borrowed up to a maximum of $50,000. Further details about how the Lifetime ISA will work will be announced when the government brings forward legislation to enact the Lifetime ISA in the autumn.

Cabinet Office

Youth Work: Government Assistance

Martyn Day: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps is he is taking to support the youth work sector; and if he will take steps to support that sector through sustainable funding, investment in research and incentives to encourage volunteering.

Mr Rob Wilson: It is the responsibility of local authorities to decide how to allocate funding for youth services according to local need, through the existing statutory duty (Education Act 2006, Section 507B). Government launched the Delivering Differently for Young People Programme to offer practical support to local authorities in exploring innovative and sustainable models for delivering youth services. Government continues to support the Centre for Youth Impact to work with youth organisations to undertake research to measure impact and demonstrate value to funders and commissioners. We are also committed to expanding National Citizen Service, which many youth sector organisations help to deliver. Government is taking new steps to encourage and enable social action. This includes a further £15m investment in the next phase of the Centre for Social Action. We want social action to become a lifelong habit.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Caves

James Heappey: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, what her policy is on the extension of the definition of mapped open countryside to caves.

George Eustice: Section 2(1) of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 provides for a right of access on foot for the purposes of open-air recreation to land which has been mapped as open country (mountain, moor, heath and down) and registered common land.The Government has no plans to extend the definition of mapped land under that Act to apply to caves.

Food: Waste

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to encourage households to donate unused food.

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of the average value of unused food thrown away by households in the last 12 months.

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of the average amount of unused food thrown away by households in the last 12 months.

Rory Stewart: Through the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), the Government continues to work with the grocery sector to reduce household food waste. The Love Food Hate Waste programme helps UK households to reduce food waste and save money through awareness raising and consumer advice. There has been a 15% (1.3 million tonnes) reduction in household food waste between 2007 and 2012. WRAP launched Courtauld 2025 on 15 March, which builds on the progress we have already made. This new agreement includes a target to reduce food and drink waste arising in the UK by 20% by 2025 (calculated as a relative reduction per head of population). For the average household, the price of avoidable food and drink waste is £470 per year. For the average household with children, the cost of avoidable food and drink waste is £700 per year. The total amount of food thrown away by the average household is 260 kg per year. 160 kg of this is avoidable waste. For the average household with children, this figure rises to 390 kg per year, including 240 kg of avoidable food waste. These are the latest available figures, applying to 2012. WRAP aims to publish updated figures for household food waste later this year.

National Flood Resilience Review

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what work has been carried out under the National Flood Resilience Review on the costs of protecting the UK from future flooding and extreme weather events.

Rory Stewart: The National Flood Resilience Review, led by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, is making good progress. It is gathering evidence and using extreme flood modelling to stress-test the resilience of Core Cities and key infrastructure. This work will inform future options on the investment needed to secure the resilence of the country against such flood events. Our call for evidence closed on 4 March and we are now reviewing the 66 responses received.

Department of Health

Motor Vehicles: Smoking

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many prosecutions for smoking in vehicles with children present have been carried out under the Smoke-free (Private Vehicles) Regulations 2015.

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will commission an independent assessment of the effect on children of legislation on smoking in cars.

Jane Ellison: The Department assesses the impact of tobacco control measures on an ongoing basis as it develops policy. The Smoke-Free (Private Vehicles) Regulations 2015 include a requirement to review the regulations within five years of them coming into force, which will include an assessment of the effect on children’s exposure to secondhand smoke in private vehicles.In changing the law we always said the measure of success would be in changes in attitude and behaviour, not the number of enforcement actions. Information on prosecutions for the period since the regulations were introduced has not yet been published, however we would expect very few fixed penalty notices issued for these offences would lead to court appearances.

Autism

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of representations that NHS England should conduct a national autism mortality review.

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to tackle premature mortality among people on the autism spectrum.

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what data his Department collects on premature mortality in people on the autism spectrum.

Alistair Burt: The National Health Service is taking action to increase the health checks and cancer screening programmes for people with learning disabilities, including those who also have autism. In 2015, NHS England commissioned the world's first Learning Disability Mortality Review Programme to support local areas to review deaths of people with learning disabilities and to use the information to improve service provision so that physical and mental health problems can be identified and addressed. This programme is currently being piloted and will be rolled out more widely in due course.We would expect that the work of the mortality review as a whole is likely to generate new information on the causes of premature mortality in all people with learning disabilities including many who will also have had autism spectrum disorder.

General Practitioners: Leeds East

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many full-time equivalent GPs were employed in general practices in Leeds East constituency in (a) 2009-10, (b) 2010-11, (c) 2011-12, (d) 2012-13 and (e) 2013-14.

Alistair Burt: This data is not collected at constituency level. Such data as is available can be found in the table below.Total general practitioners (GPs) in selected area: full time equivalents 2009-14 200920102011201220132014Leeds Primary Care Trust1502506514516..NHS Leeds South and East Clinical Commissioning Group1....164169 Notes: Data as at 30 September for each year1 GP workforce figures are not available by constituency. Leeds East constituency is contained within and serviced by NHS Leeds South and East CCG and prior to the formation of CCGs, Leeds East was contained within Leeds PCT. These two National Health Service organisations are not geographically co-terminus and therefore 2009-12 figures are not comparable to 2013-14 figures.'.' denotes not availableData Quality:The Health and Social Care Information Centre seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data but responsibility for data accuracy lies with the organisations providing the data. Methods are continually being updated to improve data quality where changes impact on figures already published. This is assessed but unless it is significant at national level figures are not changed. Impact at detailed or local level is footnoted in relevant analyses.Source: The Health and Social Care Information Centre General and Personal Medical Services Statistics

Mental Health Services: Restraint Techniques

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 17 March 2016 to Question 31709, how many incidents of face-down restraints there have been in mental health services in (a) January and (b) February 2016.

Alistair Burt: No information is currently available regarding the number of incidents of face down restraint for the months requested. The first publication by the Health and Social Care Information Centre of January 2016 information is due during April 2016. Data will only be published when the Health and Social Care Information Centre is confident that the dataset is accurate and complete.

Health Services: International Cooperation

David Tredinnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the Government plans to pursue any initiatives similar to that announced in the joint statement made by President Obama and Prime Minister Modi in January 2016 during the President's visit to India on expanding the India-US health collaboration in health sectors including complementary and traditional medicine.

Jane Ellison: The UK Government continues to work closely with the Government of India within the health sector, including working with the Indian Government to open health centres. In 2013 the Department agreed a five year Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of India. This prioritises action on antimicrobial resistance, training and development and universal health coverage. There are no plans to expand this to include complementary and traditional medicine.

Diabetes: Leicestershire

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average cost is of the (a) DESMOND and (b) Empower structured education programmes in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, who was on the procurement board that recently awarded the new contract for type 2 diabetes education programme for Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the cost to the public purse is of the contract for providing type 2 diabetes education in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.

Jane Ellison: NHS England advises that information about the average cost of the DESMOND and Empower structured diabetes education programmes in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland is not collected centrally.NHS England also advises that the evaluation panel for the new contract for the type 2 diabetes education programme comprised a range of clinicians and commissioning officers, including a patient representative, an equality lead, a specialist general practitioner and a nurse. The Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Clinical Commissioning Groups’ Governing Bodies considered the breadth of experience and skills of the panel was acceptable. A 12-week consultation with patients, which ended on 12 June 2015, informed the development of the contract specification.

Autism

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps are being taken to improve the care offered to people with autism in order to reduce the difference in life expectancy between people with and people without autism.

Alistair Burt: Think Autism the updated strategy for adults with autism in England set out a clear cross Government programme of action, developed by people with autism, their families and carers, to support local authorities, the National Health Service, and other public services to improve the lives of people with autism. In addition, last year, NHS England commissioned the world's first Learning Disability Mortality Review Programme to support local areas to review deaths of people with learning disabilities, including those with autism, and to use the information to improve service provision so that physical and mental health problems can be identified and addressed. This programme is currently being piloted and will be rolled out more widely in due course.